Paris stocks slide after terror attacks

PARIS: The Paris stock market slid Monday in nervous but volatile trade in the wake of devastating terror attacks on the French capital.

The deadly late-night assault on Friday in Paris, which left 129 people dead and 352 injured, also sent the euro tumbling on fears for security in Europe and its effect on the already struggling eurozone economy.

“Equity markets remained under pressure … as the attacks in Paris on Friday caused high uncertainty,” said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.

“In a sign of resilience there is no sign of the panicked trading that could have been justifiably expected from the European indices,” noted Spreadex trader ConnorCampbell.

The Paris tragedy added however to uncertainty in already nervous markets, which ended last week on a low owing to increasing worries about the global economy.

Sentiment was also dented by news that Japan fell back into recession in the third quarter.

“In the aftermath of the weekend tragedy it is little wonder that investor sentiment is dented this morning with sectors related to tourism and travel all taking a hit,” added London Capital Group analyst Brenda Kelly.

Top fallers in Paris were hotels giant Accor, and luxury goods groups LVMH and Kering, as investors fretted over a likely drop in consumer demand in the wake of the attacks.

Accor’s share price tumbled 5.42 percent to 39.23 euros.

LVMH and Kering fell by 1.14 percent and 1.15 percent, to stand at 160.55 euros and 163.40 euros respectively.

Airlines take hit

Europe’s airlines also took a major hit, withGermany’s Lufthansa diving 2.88 percent to 12.97 euros in Frankfurt.

And in London, British Airways owner IAG lost 2.28 percent to 579 pence, and low-cost rival EasyJet shed 1.01 percent to 1,772 pence.

However, Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, noted that markets were resilient on the whole.

“In a major sign of defiance, equity markets have fallen far less than expected and, outside of tourism and transport stocks, remain resilient,” she said.

Across in Asia, markets mostly fell Monday following the Paris attacks — with airline stocks also taking a beating.

Japan Airlines sank almost three percent and rivalANA was down 3.5 percent, while in Sydney Virgin Australia plunged 6.5 percent. Indonesian flag carrierGaruda also retreated more than one percent, whileHong Kong’s Cathay Pacific was 2.7 percent lower.

Sentiment was also dented by news that Japan’s economy slipped back into recession in the third quarter, with Tokyo stocks losing one percent.

Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.2 percent in the July-September period, or an annualised contraction of 0.8 percent, marking the second straight quarterly decline — considered a technical recession.

Selling also hit the euro, which was already under pressure from expectations the European Central Bank will loosen monetary policy to shore up the eurozone.